Can you imagine what it would be like to sit in a room with Adolf Hitler? Do you even want to imagine it?
Let me tell you, I have seen a few shows about Adolf Hitler in my time, but nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared me for Hitler Alone.
The fear sets in immediately as you enter the space. It's tiny. There is intimate and then there is claustrophobic. This was like being trapped in an elevator.
"I'm not sitting at the front. I'll be too scared", joked one of the audience members as he made his way to the second and last row. There was some truth in his voice though and most followed his example. I, however, go straight to the front line.
He bursts in like a crazy animal, shouting and screaming, frustrated at the world that has let him down. "Traitors!" he screams. But this rather common picture of Hitler doesn't persist throughout the entire piece and, instead, we get to see a quieter, sad and more human character. One who even has respect for some of his enemies.
This is incredibly refreshing and makes us confront the awful truth that he was a person like you and I. It is all too easy to label him or anybody evil and not at all like us. We are all born the same. Nobody is born evil and anybody who says that is simply taking an easy route out, because they are too narrow-minded and cowardly to confront the truth.
Hitler Alone portrays truth. He speaks of his early days up until this, his final hour and we feel at the end we understand him more. We don't agree with him, not by any stretch of the imagination. But we get it.
The energy put into the performance is probably the most terrifying aspect of this show. How he keeps going, especially playing such a difficult role as this, is beyond me. Truly amazing.
This production will scare you and maybe even appall you. Whether this is a journey you want to take is down to you at the end of the day. I hope you do take it. You'll never forget this.
Times: 12-26 August, 9.30pm